Reports of rare rat prompts Roxanne’s research

The rare native swamp rat could be making a comeback, according to reports from Hills residents.

Roxanne Stocker is conducting a survey into a possible rise in the numbers of swamp rats.

The Murray-Darling Basin Natural Resources Management Board at Strathalbyn has received an increase in people reporting sightings and evidence of the creature in the past five years, prompting a survey into the animal’s distribution in SA.
The swamp rat is a native rodent found in waterways with reeds, sedges and low-level vegetation.
It was was once found all over SA coasts and plains but its numbers diminished though a loss of habitat due to farming and land clearance.
But the recent reports have raised questions about their numbers and why they could be increasing.